A novel nanokaolinite photocatalyst for degradation of P-nitrophenol

摘要

Nanokaolinite photocatalyst was successfully prepared from bulk kaolinite by using simple intercalation-delamination method. The obtained nanokaolinite photocatalysts have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FTIR analysis, transmission electron microscope (TEM), and UV-VIS diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The XRD revealed that the layers of bulk kaolinite were exfoliated to form nanokaolinite with crystallite size ~26-32 nm. FTIR spectra showed the presence of nitrogen species between nanokaolinite layers, which lead to decrease of band gap of as-prepared samples as estimated from DRS. The photocatalytic degradation of P-Nitrophenol (PNP) was investigated using the as-prepared nanokaolinite photocatalysts under UV irradiation. The optimum nanokaolinite sample using urea as intercalating agent shows a complete photodegradation of PNP within 30 minutes. This novel nanokaolinite photocatalyst represents an extraordinary alternate for oxide-based photocatalysts.